Street Corner 3D Printing Stores Slowly Cropping Up Across America

It was not very long ago that most people had never heard of 3D printing, but suddenly 3D printing retail locations are beginning to crop up on street corners here and there. It was just last year that MakerBot opened a retail location in New York City, and more stores are coming.

Certainly, more and more of these stores will be opening up in due time. What’s most interesting about these places is that, taken together, they seem to exist for a multitude of purposes, from offering demos, showing off the 3D printer products, and introducing people to the concept and possibilities of 3D printing to helping people bring their ideas to life to functioning as venues for business-class projects.

One new store, HoneyBee3D, is the work of a husband-wife team. Liza Wallach has been in that location for a decade, running a jewelry line and store, and husband Nick Kloski spent more than 15 years working for Sun and Oracle. Thus, their store is built with elements of boutique design and tech bundled up together, which is a fascinating combination that reflects the diverse types of people that are interested in 3D printing.

HoneyBee3D retail store (Credit: Makezine)

The couple told Makezine that they’re planning another six HoneyBee3D stores in the Bay Area in the next, which is startling; that’s incredibly rapid growth for a new retail venture, but it points to the skyrocketing popularity of 3D printing.

3D printing is also appearing within established retail locations and online, including at Best Buy stores, Office Depot, Staples, eBay, and Amazon.